This application is directed to an apparatus wherein foam is generated as a result of the operation of the apparatus, and which is provided with an improved foam breaking arrangement.
The invention is particularly useful in the continuous, foam-free discharge of gaseous reaction products from fermenters, i.e., from vessels wherein micro-biological reactions take place which generate such gaseous reaction products.
Equipment of this type, provided with foam breaking arrangements, is already known in the art, e.g., from U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,693,325 and 3,501,414. In these basically satisfactory constructions of the prior art the foam breakers are located in the reactor vessel itself. This means that when certain dimensions of the reactor vessel and foam breaking arrangement are exceeded, it is difficult to satisfactorily journal the rotary shaft of the arrangement, in such a manner as to prevent it from performing "whipping" motions and undergoing excessive vibrations during its rotation.